Iowa Corn Farmers Take Priorities to Corn Congress

Iowa Corn Growers Association® (ICGA) farmer-leaders attended the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Congress meetings this week to advocate for key agricultural issues and priorities.

During Corn Congress, Iowa farmer-leaders met with ag committee staff to express the tax issues being debated that could devastate family farms. Additionally, delegates met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ask that Farm Services Agency (FSA) offices be open and fully staffed to best support corn farmers. 

“This year’s NCGA Corn Congress was a success as there were policy priority discussions and packed agendas for the action team meetings where Iowa has representation on each of these teams,” said ICGA President Carl Jardon, a farmer from Randolph, Iowa. “Typically, this meeting is held in Washington D.C. along with Hill visits, due to the timing and uncertainty of the pandemic, we met in Louisiana. We will be participating in virtual Hill visits with our Iowa delegation as well as legislators from across the country next week to advocate for NCGA policy priorities for our nation’s corn farmers.”

Additionally, NCGA delegates elected Bob Hemesath from Winneshiek County to the NCGA Board for a three-year term. Hemesath will join the Corn Board alongside Chris Edgington from Mitchell County who will serve as NCGA President for Fiscal Year 2022 that begins October 1, 2021. Directors Bruce Rohwer of O’Brien County and Kevin Ross of Pottawattamie County will retire from the NCGA Corn Board at that time.

“It’s an honor to be elected to the NCGA Corn Board as I am looking forward to working for Iowa’s corn growers and the nation’s corn growers to maintain and develop new markets for corn and corn products,” said Bob Hemesath a farmer from Decorah, Iowa.

The NCGA Corn Board represents the organization on all matters while directing both policy and supervising day-to-day operations. Board members represent the federation of state organizations, supervise the affairs and activities of NCGA in partnership with the chief executive officer and implement NCGA policy established by the Corn Congress. Members also act as spokesmen for NCGA and enhance the organization’s public standing on all organizational and policy issues.

For More Information:

Brandi Strautman, Public Relations Manager, bstrautman@iowacorn.org, 515-225-9242